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8 March 2004 - Changes to UAF email DC&C is beginning to implement the new email server to replace Aurora. The new configuration will allow for future expansion and will require you to make a few changes in your email client software. This can be done immediately and still permit access to the old Aurora. These changes MUST be in place by Friday, March 12 in order for you to be able to receive and send email after the switch over which will occur during Spring Break. The changes that need to be made are:
PINE USERS
If you need assistance in making these changes, go to http://www.uaf.edu/dcc/helpdesk/docs/index.html#email for documentation for specific email clients or call the Help Desk at 474-6564. For more information about the email implementation go to: http://www.uaf.edu/dcc/helpdesk/email.html. |
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18 February 2004 - New IAB Web Site Welcome to the new IAB Web site located at http://www.iab.uaf.edu! We have tried to be as accurate as possible, but there are bound to be some errors. We ask everyone for their help in spotting those errors. Also, let us know what additional information that should be included. Send comments/changes to marie.gilbert@uaf.edu. New Web site highlights: 1. The "About IAB" page now has a Google search form where you can search just the IAB/B&W/AKCFWRU Web sites, including anything on Mercury. 2. The "Events" page lists the Life Sciences Seminar schedule and a general calendar of events happening at IAB and of interest to people at IAB. Submit additions to Marie (marie.gilbert@uaf.edu) 3. The "Faculty, Staff, Students" page lists all the people connected with IAB/B&W/AKCFWRU. If you're not listed here, be sure to let us know so we can include you. If you are listed, check the information to make sure it's accurate. Please provide any more information that you want included. Graduate students especially, you can list your major advisor, your research interests, and a photo (of you, please). The same goes for everyone else. Send whatever information you want listed. 4. On the same page, but only if you are accessing this page from Irving 1 (except the computer lab in 303 Irv 1) or Arctic Health, you will get a link at the top called Group Mail. This is for mass mailing within IAB/B&W/AKCFWRU. Select the group or groups you want to send an e-mail to and click the "Send" button. If you have a default mail client set up, a new message window will open and the addresses will be filled in. 5. The "Publications" page provides access to publications from 1987-2003 and will be updated frequently with new publications. You can search the publications in several ways. Click on the "Search Tips" button and read the details. Notably, we have a Faculty Quick Search option. Check it out. If you notice errors in any of the publication listing or there are some of your publications not listed, submit changes/additions to Marie (marie.gilbert@uaf.edu) 6. The "Research" page lists major research categories, faculty affiliated with those categories, and example research projects. Check to be sure you are listed where you want to be. You can be in as many groups as you wish. We will periodically rotate the sample projects so be sure to contribute some from time to time. Graduate students are encouraged to submit project titles, too. 7. We have one more page coming, "In the News." We'll archive articles from newspapers, magazines, and journals that highlight people and research at IAB/B&W/AKCFWRU. We'll also include sound clips from radio broadcasts and whatever else we can find. Don't be shy; send your "In the News" news to Marie (marie.gilbert@uaf.edu). We hope you find IAB's Web site useful. Let us know what you think. |
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13 February 2004 - Windows Patch Microsoft has announced another vulnerability to the Windows operating system. That means it won't be too long before someone releases another worm to exploit it. Now is the time to install the patch so that we are not affected when it happens. Please, please, please take the time to do a Windows update as soon as possible. This applies to Windows NT, 2000, and XP operating systems. Remember last summer when a vulnerability was announced and we were all encouraged to install that patch? Many of us didn't and it was a mess for awhile. We can avoid that if everyone installs this patch today. So do a Windows update right now and install all critical updates that are listed. If you don't know how to do a Windows update, ask me or ask someone else who knows. Don't just ignore this. I might not be so willing to help when the worm hits. -Ed. |
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10 November 2003 - Inventory Help I've been getting periodic notices of infected computers in our subnet, the most recent one being last Friday (which I haven't located yet). I'd like to put together a list of all the computers used by B&W/IAB in Irving 1, AHRB, the greenhouse, etc. Each computer has a unique and unchanging machine address or MAC address (stands for media access control). If I can get a list of all our machines by MAC address, then when I get a notice of an infected computer by its IP address, I can convert that to a MAC address and then immediately know which computer it is. This will help you because you'll no longer have to deal with these emails of mine searching for an infected computer. So please, take a few minutes to find out the information described below and send it to me. I will greatly appreciate it. Win 95/98/ME: From the Start Menu, click on Run. Type winipcfg and click OK. This opens an IP Configuration window. Make sure your ethernet adapter is selected in the top pull-down box (not the PPP adapter or anything else). Click on the button that says More Info>>. Send me the following:
Win 2K/XP: From the Start Menu, go to Programs, then Accessories, then select Command Prompt. At the prompt, type ipconfig /all and then hit Enter. Be sure to include the /all after ipconfig. Send me the following:
Also include your name, phone number, room number, and building. Please do this for any computer that you use on campus, including laptops. If your computer is a Mac, it's not really necessary to do this, but you can if you want. Thanks in advance for doing this. It will make tracking down these infected machines a breeze instead of the headache it is now. -Ed. |
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7 November 2003 - Web Addresses As you know, mercury is the web server for IAB, B&W, and the Coop Unit. For the past several years, our web addresses have started with mercury.bio.uaf.edu. That's been OK, but not very intuitive. Well, we've created some aliases for mercury so now you can access our websites with addresses that make more sense. For example, these 3 URLs will directly access homepages for IAB, B&W, and AKCFWRU, respectively: These URL prefixes will also work for our personal webpages. Because all these aliases actually point to a single server, you have your choice of which prefix you want to use. If you are mainly affiliated with IAB, then use that prefix. If you are in the Coop Unit, use that one. Here are 3 examples: The same holds for organizational units, such as the DNA Core Lab or the Alaska Basic Neuroscience Program. Those URLs could be: And the departmental computer resources page and the online course page can be accessed with: I think you get the picture. And with these aliases, the old addresses still work just fine. You can notify your contacts if you want or just start using the new addresses. Let me know if you have any questions. -Ed. |
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30 October 2003 - Zen of IP Addresses I've learned a little more about how dynamic ip addresses work and I thought I'd pass along the useful tidbits. As I said last week, we've increased the pool of ip addresses significantly so we shouldn't have the problem of running out of ip addresses anymore. However, there are still times when you might not get an ip address due to other reasons. Here is what you should do then. If your internet connection is not working after booting up:
I did this with half a dozen computers yesterday and it worked in all cases. Apparently if you reboot without releasing the address first, you still might not end up with a valid ip address. And if you release and then renew without rebooting, it might not work either. With an admittedly small sample size, this method seems to always work. Save this email somewhere in case you run into this problem. -Ed. |
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24 October 2003 - IP Address Pool Finally some good news. We've been cleaning up the ip address lists and have almost doubled the number of addresses in the ip pool for Irving 1. That means all those problems we've been having the past few weeks not being able to get a valid ip address should be a thing of the past. This has especially tormented people who don't turn their machines on until later in the day only to find the pool is empty and you can't access email or the internet. Well, that hassle should be over. I can also use your help locating 2 more computers with the following ip addresses: 137.229.45.33 These are not infected computers. They are set up with fixed ip addresses and we'd like to find out if they can be switched to dynamic. If either of these computers are your's, please contact me (x5641). Hopefully you remember how to check your ip address from past emails. Here is a brief reminder: Win 95/98: Click Start > Run and enter winipcfg. From the pulldown, select your ethernet adapter. Read the ip address. Win ME/2K/XP: Click Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt and enter ipconfig. Read the ip address. Thanks for your help. -Ed. |
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8 October 2003 - New Slide Scanner We have a new slide scanner in the Irving 303 computer lab. It is connected to the computer immediately behind the door when you enter the room. Using it should be fairly intuitive, especially if you're used to the old scanner. Start Nikon Scan 3.1 from the icon on the desktop, insert the slide, do a preview scan, modify the settings for scan area, file size, etc., do the final scan, and then save the file. Select Help for a pretty thorough lesson in how it all works if you need it, but you should be able to figure out most of it. If not, you can check out the manual from me. If too many people are confused, I'll create an instructional webpage. The scanner also has an attachment for scanning film. If you have some 35mm negatives that you need to scan, come and see me to get the attachment. The old scanner has found a new home in Bunnell. It may be more convenient for some of you to do your slide scanning there. -Ed. |
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22 September 2003 - Bogus Windows Update There are some emails going around that seem to be from Microsoft that (supposedly) contain a cumulative patch with all the latest Windows updates. DO NOT RUN THIS ATTACHMENT! Microsoft makes it clear on their website that they NEVER send out updates via email. They might send out notices about updates, but they will never send you a file. Some of these emails are pretty sophisticated in appearance, but they are not the real thing. Delete them as you get them. As a reminder, keep up with Windows Updates and you should be set. -Ed. |
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17 September 2003 - Radius Dialup Accounts If you use a Radius dial-up account from home, you may have or will soon experience problems logging on. It turns out that the passwords are expiring without any indication to the user. If you can no longer login to your Radius account, you'll need to call the help desk (x6564) and ask them to reset your password. Then go to http://yukon.alaska.edu to change your password to whatever you want it to be. If you are not having a problem logging in, you might want to go the the above webpage and change your password before it expires. My guess is that they are set to expire after 6 months. If you're still using your Kerberos account for dialing in, the word is that Kerberos will be going away soon, possibly by the end of the month. That's the scoop as I know it. -Ed. |
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10 September 2003 - New Windows Vulnerability If you use a non-Windows computer or use Windows 95/98/ME, you can disregard this message. If you use Windows NT/200/XP, read on. Today Microsoft announced a new vulnerability in Windows NT, 2000, and XP. It is very similar to the recent RPC vulnerability that was exploited by the Blaster worm we all know so well. The lesson here should be obvious. If we all take the time to update our machines now, then perhaps we can save ourselves a lot of headaches when someone releases a new worm to exploit this new vulnerability, as we know will happen eventually. Microsoft has released a patch that is available from Windows Update. Run Windows Update as soon as possible. 1. Start Windows Update either from your Start Menu or from the Tools Menu in Internet Explorer. 2. Scan your computer and review the list of Critical Updates. You're specifically looking for an update called Security Update for Windows XP (or 2000) (KB824146). This is the main one to install, but it's a good idea to install all critical updates listed. 3. Reboot and you're finished. Please do not just brush this off. UAF got hammered pretty good with the last worm and we know it's only a matter of time before there's a new one. It only take a few minutes to install the update. -Ed. |
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20 August 2003 - Connecting to Mercury We have been experiencing problems connecting to Mercury in the past couple weeks, especially from outside Irving. Here is what you need to know to correct the problem. If you don't connect to Mercury, then please disregard this message. 1. The Microsoft Netware Client will no longer work and will need to be replaced with the Novell Client. Here's an easy way to know which one you have. When you boot your computer, if you get a Novell login screen, then you have the Novell Client and can proceed to #2. If not, then you have the Microsoft Netware Client. Go to your Network Control Panel, click on Microsoft Netware Client, and click on Uninstall. When it's done you'll need to reboot. Then, go to http://mercury.bio.uaf.edu/mercury/getclient.html and download the client version appropriate for your operating system. Follow the direction on that page to install it and configure it properly. 2. If you already have the Novell Client, click on the Advanced button on the login screen. The first 2 entries (tree and context) should both be blank. The third entry for server should be mercury.bio.uaf.edu instead of UAF_MERCURY as it was in the past. You should then be able to login after that. If you are in Irving 1, then it seems that UAF_MERCURY continues to work so it's up to you whether you want to change it. Hopefully next time we'll have some advance warning before things change. -Ed. |
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19 August 2003 - Virus Reminders With the recent rash of worms and viruses making the rounds, it seems like a good time to send out a general "attachment protocol" reminder. 1. Treat EVERY attachment you get with some suspicion. Do not just automatically open attachments. Only open attachments that you are expecting. Whether you know the person who "supposedly" sent it or not, if you weren't expecting it, contact them and ask first. 2. Be especially suspicious of attachments that are executables. These can be identified by their extensions, such as .exe, .bat, .com, .pif, or .scr. NEVER run these unless you are absolutely sure they are safe. 3. You can save an attachment to your hard drive and then run an antivirus scan on it. Of course this only works if the virus is old enough to have a definition. If it's a brand new virus, your antivirus software won't catch it. 4. If you get an attachment your are unsure of, you can almost always find out whether it's a virus by doing an internet search on the file name. A 30 second Google search can save you a lot of misery. And of course, keep your virus definitions up to date. Get in the habit of treating all attachments as a potential virus. It's unfortunate that it's come to this, but it has. -Ed. |
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11 August 2003 - MS Blaster Worm An email made the rounds last week warning of a security hole in Windows and recommended that everyone install the patch. If you are on the UAF domain, then it should have been installed for you over the weekend of 2-3 August, and you should be set. If you're not on the UAF domain, but installed the patch yourself, then you should be good to go too. If you missed or ignored the email, then you should install the patch immediately because problems have already started occurring. Symptoms: If you're running Windows XP, then you may find Windows periodically shutting down and restarting. You'll see an error message about a Remote Procedure Call terminating unexpectedly, etc. If this happens to you, you'll need to unplug your ethernet cable (so it doesn't shutdown) and then install the patch. Once your ethernet cable is unplugged you'll either have to go to another machine to download the patch (see below) or come see me for a CD. Install the patch and then reboot. You can then reconnect the ethernet and life should be good again. If you're running Windows 2000, things won't be quite so severe, but you may notice odd things happening. You might get unusual errors (VB Runtime Error), your email program might not be working correctly, etc. It seems Win 2000 machines don't shut themselves down, so you won't have to disconnect the ethernet cable, but you should install the patch anyway. Either download it (see below) or borrow the CD from me. Download the Patch: Go to this URL: Note: This patch is now available through normal Windows Update. Start Internet Explorer and then select Windows Update from the Tools menu. Install all critical updates listed. Note that it's a very long URL and it may have wrapped in your email program. Make sure you get all the pieces. Once you're there, scroll down to Patch Availability and select your operating system. (If you have Win XP, you're almost certainly running the 32 bit version.) From there click Download, save it to your computer, and then run the install. If you can't download it, you can borrow a CD to get it installed. Please do so as soon as possible. You'll save yourself a lot of grief. -Ed. |